Man falls to his death in Oakland quarry

The body of an Oakland man was recovered by a dive team early this morning. He lost his life searching for his beloved cat. The man fell into a water-filled quarry behind his home, in the city's Rockridge area.

In a neighborhood of cat lovers, Andrew Malyon stood out.

"How do you put it? That was his life, a part of his life, that was his little friend," neighbor Alan Werenskiod said.

Authorities say the 59-year-old man was searching for his cat behind his Rockridge home Tuesday night. The home sits on the edge of a steep cliff fenced off from an old rock quarry. Malyon apparently slipped and plunged nearly 100 feet into the water below.

"All I know is he gave his life for his cat," neighbor Ione Harris said.

Harris lives next door.

"When we bought this place in '95 and I stepped out on the back deck and looked down, I thought, 'Do you really want to buy here?'" Harris said.

Now she's mourning the neighbor who apparently lost his footing in the rain soaked hillside. A rescue boat and dive teams searched throughout the night before recovering Malyon's body around 1 a.m. The cat was found alive and is back home.